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Zimbabwe Parliamentary mayhem |
POLITICS
All is not well within Zimbabwe’s parliament
The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) has refused to change, and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faces an uphill battle to win the support of some ZANU-PF Members of Parliament who have criticised aspects of the government’s policies but reneged at the height of the debate, especially when it’s time to vote.
The 24-25 June parliamentary elections saw the MDC led by former trade unionist, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, win 57 of the 120 contested seats. One seat was snatched by the little-known Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga (ZANU-Ndonga) led by the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole. With just 62 elected seats, ZANU-PF still calls the tune because under the Constitution, Mr Robert Mugabe is entitled to appoint 30 non-constituency members who are naturally voting with the ruling party.
For the first time since Independence 20 years ago, an opposition party has won a sizeable number of seats in Parliament and Mr Mugabe and his ZANU-PF are upset by this state of affairs within Parliament.
Because of the bad relationship between the two parties, tolerance has yet to prevail in the House. Heckling and insults from both sides of the House are the order of the day. The ruling party’s MPs claim they are the «liberators of the country» and that they are «more experienced to lead Zimbabwe». The MDC MPs shout back, accusing ZANU-PF MPs of «hooliganism, corruption and mismanagement».
However, it must be noted that a good number of Mr Mugabe’s MPs have already presented motions that have been applauded by the Opposition. In their speeches, some ZANU-PF Members called for the immediate withdrawal of Zimbabwean troops from Congo RDC and for sterner measures to be taken to fight corruption. But when it came to voting, these particular MP‘s back-tracked and reverted to voting with their party, in spite of their earlier motions.
«Strapped for cash»
An example of the goings-on in Parliament is provided by the Minister of Finance and Development, Dr Simba Makoni, when he recently tabled a supplementary budget in Parliament, seeking MPs’ approval for an additional US $1 billion. Then followed a heated and prolonged debate. MDC MPs walked out in protest because they said they were being compelled to pass a budget containing «excessive government expenditure». They demanded, without success, that the House be allowed more time to debate the budget estimates. The MDC opposition, led by their parliamentary leader, Mr Gibson Sibanda, rejected the budget which they said was reminiscent of many previous ones which violated the Constitution, by giving the government leeway to spend public money lavishly.
Pleading for MDC support, the government said there was justification in the request for more cash, because it was broke and there was no money in its coffers to pay civil servants». All to no avail as far as the MDC was concerned!
Relations between the MDC and ZANU-PF were pretty bad during the pre-election. If anything, they’re now worse, judging by the verbal insults traded within Parliament.
Mr Mugabe’s MPs boast of having liberated Zimbabwe and that the MDC MPs are «sellouts who work underground with “imperialists” to destroy Zimbabwe. The MDC MPs are constantly reminded that they are «apprentices and nonentities», who, according to President Mugabe, need a period of five years before they can qualify for ministerial posts.
On the other hand, MDC MPs are quick to retaliate by calling ZANU-PF a «sellout organisation that has betrayed the liberators of the country through corruption, mismanagement and anarchy, currently being spearheaded by the so-called war veterans, sponsored by Mr Mugabe».
Even the Speaker of the House and his deputies have openly taken unfair decisions to silence MDC MPs who are proving to be a thorn in the side of the ruling party. «The problem is, you are not applying the same rules to both sides of the House», Mr Sibanda told the deputy Speaker, Mrs Edna Madzongwe, one day. «We feel intimidated here...» complained another MDC Member, after the Speaker had overruled an opposition Member and overlooked the unparliamentary language used by Mr Mugabe’s sister, Sabina.
The fact is, Zimbabwe’s two main political parties give the impression they are in Parliament just to settle old scores, and the resultant victim is the ordinary citizen whose economic suffering will worsen. It appears the two parties are only buying time until the presidential elections scheduled for 2002.
Because there are divisions over several policies within ZANU-PF, some senior party leaders are praying secretly for change, and hope the 2002 polls will be the deciding factor and end the current squabbling and heckling in Parliament. ZANU-PF Members are quite prepared to support Mr Mugabe and his party during the day, but come the evening and they’re on their knees behind the scenes, praying for his downfall.
But unless and until the presidential elections take place, the time-wasting and mudslinging drama will continue in Parliament.
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